A Clean Bill of Health

The $81 million Frankston Hospital redevelopment is on track for completion this year, with the four-level structure at its full height and fit outs beginning. Health Minister David Davis toured the building last week and congratulated Peninsula Health for the pace of the development.

He said the hospital would meet the needs of Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula’s growing population and ageing community. “This development will double the physical size of Frankston Hospital’s emergency department and add three hospital wards,” Mr Davis said. “The Frankston Hospital emergency department is one of the busiest in the state with close to 60,000 attendees each year and this expansion will help meet that demand.”

The new emergency ­department, which has created 240 jobs, will also provide a dedicated entry point. Frankston Liberal candidate Sean Armistead said he felt the physical presence of the development was also positive for the community. “Seeing this building go up so quickly in an area that is supposed to be economically depressed is a real plus for the community,” he said.

“It is an indication that they are being looked after and will have access to world class health services.” Peninsula Health is also celebrating improvements such as ­reducing ­ambulance transfer times from 110 minutes to 38 minutes within a year. Mr Davis said 86.3 per cent of transfers were completed within the 40-minute target in 2014, up from 58.9 per cent in March 2013, and will continue to improve with the new development.

“Frankston Hospital was at the bottom of the pack for ambulance transfer times and now it is beating the benchmarks and close to the top,” Mr Davis said. In light of the fact major infrastructure changes take years of planning, Leader asked Mr Davis if ­another major project for the hospital was already in the works to accommodate the region’s growing population.

Mr Davis said he was aware of community desire to relocate social welfare services from central Frankston to the hospital complex. But he said the main focus for the region’s health services at present was to complete the hospital redevelopment.

Source: Frankston Standard Leader